Shirley Raines, social media creator and founder of the non-profit Beauty 2 The Streetz, died last week at age 58. Better known as Ms. Shirley to many who experienced homelessness in Los Angeles and Nevada, she had a 5 million TikTok-follower tribe. Ms. Shirley made a difference in people’s lives. She offered hygiene kits and beauty products to those on Skid Row, LA. When she posted pictures on TikTok of her offers to color people’s hair and do makeup, hair stylists and barbers as well as makeup companies donated their services and products. At one time Ms. Shirley cooked 400 meals a week in her apartment for Skid Row occupants. When the pandemic reached LA, she turned her soul soldier efforts to combat COVID with vaccinations for unhoused people.
Ms. Shirley was named CNN’s Hero of the Year in 2021. A defining part of her story involves mothering 6 children. One son died just days before his 3rd birthday from an accidental overdose from a relative’s prescription medications, a shattering experience that Ms. Shirley recalled in becoming “a very broken woman.” During the CNN award event, she put a positive spin on her grieving: “It’s important you know that broken people are still very much useful…I am a mother without a son, and there are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother. And I feel like it’s a fair exchange—I’m here for them.”
A 2025 survey reports that nearly 72,000 individuals were homeless (on any given evening) in Los Angeles County. Clearly, it takes more than one person to address the critical needs of so many, but Ms. Shirley was a tireless organizer of services for countless folks. She engaged people on the streets by offering them a turn at working with her as she provided free haircuts or handed out supplies and food.
February is Black History month in the U.S. and Canada. Gaining momentum, this honoring of achievements of persons of African descent is now celebrated in Ireland and the UK every October. This year is a particularly poignant time to honor both Black histories and Black herstories. Patriarchal norms focus most attention on men’s history. White patriarchal norms led to an executive order in 2025 demanding that the Smithsonian remove or modify exhibits that “divide Americans based on race” or “inappropriately disparage” U.S. history. One removal was Harriet Tubman’s hymnal, a worn-out time capsule of hymns sung as signals for slaves via Underground Railroad escapes.
For inspiration in trying times, arm yourself with these quotes from wise author, poet, memoirist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou:
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
458. Is there a movement that you feel passionate about in 2026?
469. How might you honor Black History/Herstory this month?
Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog 